82 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 51, NO.

1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

High-Power Cycloconverter for Mining Applications:

Practical Recommendations for Operation,
Protection, and Compensation
Pablo A. Aravena, Luis A. Morán, Fellow, IEEE, Rolando Burgos, Member, IEEE,
Pablo Astudillo, Cristhian Olivares, and David A. Melo

Abstract—This paper presents practical aspects related with the

operation, compensation, and protection of high-power cyclocon-
verters used in the mining industry. Practical recommendations
related with startup, compensation requirements, operational
characteristics, and unexpected shutdown process are described.
Fuseless characteristics of modern cycloconverters are also dis-
cussed. Relevant current waveforms associated with the operation
of a 20-MW synchronous motor semiautogenous grinding mill
drive are presented, as well as current and voltage waveforms
under fault operating conditions.
Index Terms—AC–AC power conversion, harmonic distortion,
protective relaying, reactive power, synchronous motor drives,
thyristor converters.

I. I NTRODUCTION
Fig. 1. Typical grinding mill plant configuration (one SAG mill and two ball
C YCLOCONVERTERS rated over 20 MW are frequently
used in the mining industry, particularly in grinding mill
drives, semiautogenous (SAG), and balls. In these applications,
mills).

To provide useful information, this paper presents practi-

cycloconverters are used to drive high-power synchronous
motors that operate at very low speed (below 10 r/min) [1].
Normally, in mining applications, three high-power cyclocon-
verters are used in grinding mill drives, i.e., one for SAG, which
has the largest power, and two for ball mills (see Fig. 1).
The impact of connecting three cycloconverters in the power
distribution system must be carefully analyzed to avoid severe
voltage regulation problems and voltage harmonic distortion.
Moreover, the cost of failure in this type of drives is very high,
reaching millions of US dollars.
Manuscript received July 1, 2013; revised November 27, 2013; accepted
April 24, 2014. Date of publication May 29, 2014; date of current version
January 16, 2015. Paper 2013-MIC-413.R1, presented at the 2013 IEEE Indus-
try Applications Society Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, USA, October 6–11,
and approved for publication in the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON I NDUSTRY
A PPLICATIONS by the Mining Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry
Applications Society. This work was supported by CONICYT through Project
CONICYT/FONDECYT under Grant 1110592 and Project CONICYT/
FONDAP under Grant 15110019.
P. A. Aravena, L. A. Morán, and D. A. Melo are with the Universidad de Con-
cepción, 160-C Concepción, Chile (e-mail: pabloaravena@udec.cl; lmoran@
udec.cl; davidmelo@udec.cl).
R. Burgos is with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA (e-mail: Rolando@vt.edu).
P. Astudillo and C. Olivares are with Siemens S.A., 242-V Santiago, Chile
(e-mail: p.astudillo@siemens.com; pablo.astudillo@siemens.com; c.olivares@
siemens.com).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIA.2014.2327155
cal recommendations related with cycloconverter operation,
protection, reactive power, and current harmonics compensa-
tion. For example, since cycloconverters use thyristors, the
system overcurrent protection must be coordinated with the
commutation sequence of thyristors, to prevent commutation
failures during unexpected shutdown. Another important char-
acteristic of cycloconverters is that they operate with almost
constant MVA, presenting a poor power factor, particularly
when they operate with light load. Moreover, cycloconverters
are an important source of noncharacteristic current harmonic
components, such as interharmonic and subharmonics, which
can generate flicker and resonances with the passive filters used
to compensate characteristic harmonics and reactive power.
Based on practical experience and using real current and volt-
age waveforms, this paper analyzes the cycloconverter principle
of operations and the implications of using such large power
static converters in power distribution systems. Important rec-
ommendations for protection and reactive power compensation
are presented.
II. C YCLOCONVERTER C HARACTERISTICS
Cycloconverters are classified as direct ac-to-ac line-
commutated frequency converters. Since they do not have an
energy storage component, such as a dc capacitor or a dc reac-
tor, the interaction between input and output terminals is direct
(see Figs. 2 and 3). An important operating characteristic of

0093-9994 © 2014 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
MELO et al.: HIGH-POWER CYCLOCONVERTER FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
Fig. 2. Cycloconverter power circuit configuration. (a) Simplified three-phase
six-pulse cycloconverter topology. (b) Practical implementation of thyristors
and heat sinks.
Fig. 3. Typical thyristor arrangement in a 12-pulse cycloconverter.
cycloconverters is that the output frequency is limited by cur-
rent and voltage harmonic distortion, and the maximum value
cannot be higher than 1/3 the line frequency [2]. Another
undesired characteristic of cycloconverters is that, even with a
unity load power factor, the input power factor is between 0.70
and 0.85 lagging (see Fig. 5). Depicted of all these limitations,
cycloconverters are still the preferred static converter for high-
power low-speed synchronous motor drive applications [7].
83
Fig. 4. Cycloconverter input displacement power factor as a function of output
load displacement power factor for different modulation index values.
Fig. 5. Cycloconverter input displacement factor for different modulation
index values and unity output power factor.
A. Input Power
The amount of reactive power absorbed by the cyclocon-
verter depends on the modulation index (r) and the load power
factor (cos φo ), as shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 shows that the highest input displacement factor is
close to 0.87 (lagging) and is achieved when the cycloconverter
load operates at unity power factor and the modulation index
is equal to 1.15. For a modulation index that is equal to
1 and rated output load power with unity power factor, the
cycloconverter input power factor is 0.8 lagging (see Fig. 5).
Fig. 4 illustrates that for low-output-power operating conditions
(low cycloconverter modulation index), the input power factor
is quite low.
Active and reactive power absorbed by the cycloconverter for
different modulation index values is shown in Fig. 6. These two
figures show that the cycloconverter operates at almost-constant
input apparent power. At low-modulation-index operation (light
load), more reactive power is absorbed by the cycloconverter
[see Fig. 6(b)], whereas at a higher modulation index, the active
power absorbed by the cycloconverter increases [see Fig. 6(a)],
and the reactive power decreases. This characteristic forces the
compensation of a variable amount of reactive power, necessary
to fulfill the distribution system power factor requirements and
to improve voltage regulation.
B. Current Harmonics
Cycloconverter input current harmonic components can be
classified as characteristics and noncharacteristics. Character-
istic harmonic components depend on the converter number of
pulses, i.e., p, whereas noncharacteristic components depend on
the converter output frequency. The order of the input current
84 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 51, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Fig. 7. Cycloconverter input current total harmonic distortion for different

modulation index values.

TABLE I
S YNCHRONOUS M OTOR R ATED VALUES

Fig. 6. Input active and reactive power for different cycloconverter modu-
lation index values. (a) Input active power as a function of different cyclo-
converter modulation index values. (b) Input reactive power as a function of
different cycloconverter modulation index values. TABLE II
C YCLOCONVERTER R ATED VALUES

characteristic and noncharacteristic harmonics is defined by the

following equations:

h = (k · p ± 1) (1)
fo
h = (k · p ± 1) ± 6 · n · , n = 0. (2)
f1 TABLE III
T RANSFORMER R ATED VALUES
The total harmonic distortion is defined for integer multiples
of the fundamental frequency; however, it is possible to separate
the THD associated with characteristic and noncharacteristic
harmonics, as shown in (3) and (4) [4]. The total THD is
calculated by using (5). Thus,
 

 I2
 h charact. h The frequency spectrum of the cycloconverter input current,
T HDcharact. = (3) for rated operating condition, unity load power factor, and
I1
 5.5-Hz output frequency is shown in Fig. 8. This figure shows
  that the input current has two noncharacteristic harmonic com-
 I2
 h non charact. h ponents close to the fundamental frequency. These components
T HDnon charact. = (4)
I1 are the subharmonic with frequency f1 − 6fo and the inter-
 harmonic with frequency f1 + 6fo with an amplitude close to
2
T HDtotal = T HDcharact. + T HDnon2
charact. . (5) 3% with respect to the fundamental [3]. The subharmonic with
frequency f1 − 6fo indicates that if the output frequency fo
Input current harmonic distortions generated by a 12-pulse is equal to 1/6f1 , this subharmonic becomes a dc component,
cycloconverter and for different modulation index values are which must be avoided. Input current THD is higher than 10%.
shown in Fig. 7 with technical data in Tables I, II, and III. It is By using passive filters, input current characteristic harmonics
important to note that, for a given output frequency, the input can be effectively attenuated; however, low-frequency inter-
current total THD is almost constant for all the modulation and subharmonics located near the 50 Hz can be amplified by
index range. Fig. 7 shows that for operation close to rated load passive filters keeping the THD higher than 10% [5].
(modulation index higher than 1), the THD associated with non- Input current and voltage waveforms obtained in a 20-MW
characteristic harmonics is higher than the THD related with SAG mill cycloconverter, 23 kV, operating at rated load are
characteristic components. This issue must be considered in the shown in Fig. 9.
specification and design of the current harmonic compensation Low-frequency input current sub- and interharmonics gener-
scheme. ated by cycloconverters are difficult to attenuate with passive
MELO et al.: HIGH-POWER CYCLOCONVERTER FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
Fig. 8. Simulated cycloconverter input current. (a) Input current waveform
for rated operating conditions, unity load power factor, and 5.5-Hz output
frequency. (b) Associated frequency spectrum.
Fig. 9. Cycloconverter input current waveform and phase-to-neutral voltage
in a 20-MW–23-kV SAG mill drive. (a) Input current waveform for rated
operating conditions and unity load power factor.
filters, and if not properly compensated, they can produce
flicker in the power distribution system [5].
C. Motor Starting
Grinding mill drives use synchronous motors with a current
control technique (normally vector control). Vector control lim-
its the stator current during motor starting at a value not higher
than 150%. Moreover, vector control forces the synchronous
motor to operate with unity power factor. The motor starts using
current control mode, until the speed reaches a value that can be
measured by the encoder (70% rated speed) and then changes to
voltage control. Figs. 10 and 11 show the speed reference and
85
Fig. 10. Synchronous motor speed reference for the starting procedure.
Fig. 11. Synchronous motor stator current waveform during starting.
current waveforms during the starting of a 20-MW SAG mill
drive.
Fig. 11 shows that even with the speed reference and the
vector control technique, the motor presents overcurrent during
the first acceleration ramp. Due to a mechanical constraint, the
minimum starting time is limited to 30 s, with two acceleration
ramps separated by 10 s (see Fig. 10). During the starting pro-
cedure, particularly in the first 30 s, the converter modulation
index is low, which means that the cycloconverter during that
time operates with an input power factor below 0.7.
Voltage, current, and control waveforms related with a
20-MW SAG mill drive starting procedure are shown in Fig. 12.
The motor starts with current control mode until it reaches
3 r/min and is then changed to voltage control. Motor field
current is applied 2 s before the stator voltage to generate the
required synchronous motor magnetic field.
Waveforms shown in Fig. 12 confirm that the control scheme
limits the stator current effectively; the starting time of this
motor is set at 30 s, and acceleration is controlled applying two
speed ramps, as shown in Fig. 12(d). The motor reaches steady-
state torque after the first seep ramp is finished.
D. Thyristor Commutation
Thyristors are line-commutated semiconductors that can be
controlled during the turn-on and not during the turn-off pro-
cess. Thyristor turn-off is achieved when voltage between the
anode and the cathode is negative as well as the current (line
commutation). In six-pulse converters, as that used in cyclo-
converters, the relation between the commutation process and
the electrical parameters is given in (6), where μ is the angle
required to commutate a given thyristor. In cycloconverters, the
firing angle α and the current Id are continuously changing;
therefore, each thyristor’s cycloconverter requires a different
μ value, depending on the moment it is forced to turn on.
86 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 51, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Fig. 12. Recorded waveforms during the starting procedure of a 20-MW SAG mill drive. (a) Synchronous motor stator voltage. (b) Synchronous motor stator
current. (c) Cycloconverter modulation index. (d) Reference speed signal. (e) Motor developed torque. (f) Synchronous motor excitation current.

To avoid commutation failures, α + μ must be lower than
180◦ . Other parameters that influence the commutation process
in the thyristor is the system voltage and frequency, and the
system equivalent impedance referred to at the cycloconverter
terminals [3]
4πf LId
cos(α + μ) = cos(α) − . (6)
V tation angle required by the thyristors. If the voltage applied
Equation (6) also shows that in a weak power distribution
system (large value of L), a large value of μ is required.
Depending on the power distribution system’s characteristics, a
safety commutation angle close to 10◦ or higher must be consid-
ered. Severe voltage drop at cycloconverter input terminals can
also produce commutation failure (6). Normally, undervoltage
protection is included in the power distribution systems with
a pick-up adjusted at 85% the rated value. If the voltage drop
exceeds 15%, the cycloconverter is turned off, thus avoiding
thyristor commutation failures as shown in Fig. 13. Based on
thyristor commutation characteristics, most of the commutation
failures are caused by power distribution disturbance [1], [7].
Voltage drop and frequency variations increase the commu-
between the anode and the cathode is not high enough, the
thyristor will not turn off, generating a commutation failure that
translates in a line-to-line short circuit. Fig. 13 shows voltage
and current waveforms recorded during a system voltage sag.
Since the system voltage drop is higher than 15% (19 kV at the
cycloconverter terminals), the undervoltage relay operates by
disconnecting the drive and avoiding major damages.
MELO et al.: HIGH-POWER CYCLOCONVERTER FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
Fig. 13. Recorded waveforms at input cycloconverter terminals during a system sag. (a) System line-to-line instantaneous voltage. (b) System line-to-line root
mean square (RMS) voltage. (c) Cycloconverter output currents.
A real case of commutation failure generated by a severe
power system voltage drop is shown in Fig. 14. The commu-
tation failure is produced by the unexpected voltage system
shutdown. Fig. 14(a) shows the power system RMS voltage.
Fig. 14(b) shows the cycloconverter RMS output current and
illustrates that an overcurrent is produced at t = 18.85 s. At this
time, the system voltage was at 20.2 kV. The cycloconverter
output current waveforms are shown in Fig. 14(c). It is clear
that a line-to-line short circuit is generated at the cycloconverter
output terminals. This line-to-line short circuit is produced by a
commutation failure. The short-circuit currents are turned off
after 270 ms. The consequences of large unbalanced short-
circuit currents at the cycloconverter output generate large
peak torque at the synchronous motor, as shown in Fig. 14(d).
Finally, Fig. 14(e) shows that the line-to-line short circuit
produced by thyristor commutation failure is seen as a three-
phase short circuit at the power distribution system, due to
the balancing effect introduced by the cycloconverter power
transformer.
E. Fuseless and Snubber Circuits
Fig. 15 shows the typical snubber circuit configuration used
in high-power cycloconverters. RC-snubber circuits are used
87
and connected in parallel to each thyristor. RC-snubber circuits
are an important protection device whose function is to limit
dv/dt during the thyristor turn-on and turn-off. The snubber
capacitor limits the voltage slope (dv/dt) during commutation,
whereas the snubber resistor limits the capacitor current dis-
charge (di/dt) during thyristor turn-on. In high-power cyclocon-
verters, the snubber resistance is water cooling. Typical snubber
C and R values are 0,22 mF and 36 Ω, respectively (20-MW
SAG mill drive). Fig. 15 also shows that each snubber circuit
protects two thyristors, i.e., one of each antiparallel converter.
Modern cycloconverters use fuseless thyristors, which means
that they are short-circuit proof. To verify the thyristor short-
circuit capability, the i2 t of each device must be compared
with the energy dissipated during a short circuit. Normally,
the thyristor i2 t values are specified for 10 ms. To assure the
thyristor fuseless capability,i2 t must be compared consider-
ing the total fault clearing time of the associated protection
scheme.
III. P RACTICAL R ECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the cycloconverter characteristics and practical ex-
perience, important recommendations are proposed to improve
the operation, compensation, and protection of cycloconverters.
88 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 51, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Fig. 15. Snubber circuit connection in a 12-pulse cycloconverter.

required by the cycloconverter, thus reducing converter

losses. Moreover, with unity load power factor, the reac-
tive power absorbed by the converter is at its minimum
value.
b) Operation near rated load: Operation near rated load
maximizes cycloconverter effectiveness, since the mod-
ulation index is near unity, and the cycloconverter input
power factor is at a maximum value.
c) Reactive power compensation: Reactive power absorbed
by the cycloconverter changes over a wide range; there-
fore, variable reactive power compensation is recom-
mended to avoid voltage regulation problems. Adequate
reactive power compensation can be achieved by using a
multistage passive-filter scheme [5].

B. Cycloconverter Compensation
Since cycloconverters absorb a large amount of reactive
power and generate significant input current harmonic compo-
nents, passive or active compensation schemes must be imple-
mented and connected to the same power distribution bus, as
shown in Fig. 16.
In high-power applications, multistage passive filters tuned
at different frequencies must be implemented to compensate
reactive power and to attenuate the amplitude of input current
characteristic harmonics. To improve compensation effective-
ness, the following recommendations are proposed.
a) Passive-filter design: High-pass passive filters present
better current harmonic amplitude attenuation than tuned
topology (LC passive filters). High-pass C-type passive
filters are recommended for the compensation of low-
frequency current harmonics (below 300 Hz), whereas
Fig. 14. Recorded current and voltage waveforms during a cycloconverter high-pass passive filters are recommended for the com-
commutation failure. (a) System line-to-line RMS voltage. (b) RMS syn- pensation of current harmonics of higher frequencies
chronous motor stator current. (c) Synchronous motor stator line currents.
(d) Synchronous motor RMS torque. (e) Power system line currents.
(over 300 Hz).
b) Resonant frequency specification: Each passive filter must
A. Operation be tuned at a specific frequency. High-pass passive filters
tuned at 11th, 23d, and 35th times system frequency
To optimize the cycloconverter operation from the power (or near these values) are more suitable to attenuate
distribution point of view, the following recommendations are the amplitude of characteristic harmonics generated by
proposed. 12-pulse cycloconverters. C-type high-pass filters tuned
a) Operation with load unity displacement factor: Operation at frequencies below 300 Hz are recommended for the
with load unity power factor reduces the apparent power attenuation of noncharacteristic harmonic components.
MELO et al.: HIGH-POWER CYCLOCONVERTER FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
Fig. 16. Simplified concentrator power distribution single-phase line diagram system with one SAG mill drive (13 MW) and two ball mills (7.83 MW each).
Fig. 17. Equivalent impedance of a C-type high-pass filter as a function of
frequency. (The C-type high-pass filter is tuned to the fifth harmonic at 23 kV
with a design constant “m” equal to 10 and a quality factor equal to 20.)
c) Sub- and interharmonics attenuation: Special considera-
tion must be taken to avoid resonances that can amplify
the amplitude of current sub- and interharmonics located
near fundamental frequency.
d) Reactive Power Compensation: Total reactive power ab-
sorbed by the cycloconverter must be compensated with
passive filters. The reactive power generated by each
passive-filter scheme must be specified for the cyclo-
converter normal operating conditions (rated power or
below). Passive filters tuned at the lowest frequencies are
recommended to be rated at larger apparent power since
they improve compensation effectiveness, as shown in
Fig. 17.
e) Multistage Passive-Filter Scheme: More than one passive
filter must be considered in the compensation scheme
due to current harmonic attenuation requirements, as
well as voltage regulation. Each passive filter tuned at
specific frequency must provide adequate reactive power
89
to compensate power distribution power factor for each
cycloconverter and to avoid voltage regulation problems.
f) Passive filters switching: In mining applications, more
than one passive filter can be connected to the power dis-
tribution system with the same circuit breaker. To avoid
voltage regulation problems, the total reactive power that
can be simultaneously connected to the power distribution
system can be estimated with [6]
M V APF
ΔV = × 100% (7)
M V ASC
where M V APF is the passive-filter rated apparent power,
and M V ASC is the power system three-phase short
circuit.
To avoid overvoltage generated by passive filters, connection
to the following procedure is applied to the Concentrator Plant
in Fig. 16:
i. Start by connecting Ball Mill #1.
ii. After reaching steady-state speed, Ball Mill #2 starts.
iii. Once the two Ball Mills are running, the first set of passive
filters must be connected (see (1) and (2) in Fig. 16).
iv. After the Ball Mills and the first set of passive filters
reaches steady state, SAG Mill is started.
v. After SAG mill reaches 60% of the rated speed, the second
set of passive filters is connected (see (3) and (4) in
Fig. 16).
This sequence guarantees that passive-filter connection is
done once the Ball and SAG Mills are operating with almost
rated load, avoiding passive filters over compensation that can
affect voltage regulation. Moreover, the connection of passive
90 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 51, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
Fig. 18. Protection and control scheme block diagram.
filters, once the drives are operating with load, reduces commu-
tation failures due to transient conditions introduced by inrush
currents.
C. Cycloconverter Protection Scheme
The following protections are implemented in SAG and ball
mills:
i. system over- and undervoltage;
ii. system frequency;
iii. system overcurrent;
iv. differential protection at the motor side;
v. motor air gap protection;
vi. ground fault protection;
vii. over load during motor starting;
viii. frozen charge shaken.
To turn off the cycloconverter, thyristor gating signals must
be removed before the main circuit breaker is open. Therefore,
the cycloconverter control system must be coordinated with the
power system protection scheme. A time delay that is equal
to 100 ms must be implemented once the protection scheme
trips, before the circuit breaker starts opening its contacts (see
Fig. 18). The cycloconverter must be disconnected from the
power grid after all thyristors have been turned off. In order
to avoid more severe damage the following protections and
settings are recommended:
a) Power circuit breaker operation: In case an overcur-
rent is detected by current sensors connected in the cy-
cloconverter, thyristor gating signals must be blocked.
However, the main circuit breaker must not be open until
all thyristors have been turned off.
b) Overcurrent protection: Overcurrent protection must be
adjusted to protect the power transformer and back up the
cycloconverter. Overcurrent relay must be adjusted with a
time delay that is equal to at least 100 ms.
c) Voltage protection: Undervoltage relay with pick-up that
is equal to 85% rated value is recommended to protect
the cycloconverter against power system disturbances.
Low voltage at the cycloconverter terminals can cause
commutation failures.
d) Frequency protection: Frequency variation in power dis-
tribution systems is a symptom of power system major
failure. For this reason, it is highly recommended to
implement a frequency relay at the primary side of the
power transformer, with pick-up values at 48 Hz.
e) Coordination: All of the system protections must be
coordinated with the cycloconverter control scheme, to
allow thyristor turn-off before the main circuit breaker
is open.
f) Snubber circuits: Snubber circuits can generate a line-
to-line short circuit similar to a commutation failure.
Snubber capacitors and resistors must be checked after
a commutation failure is detected to avoid more damage
once the commutation fault is cleared.
IV. C ONCLUSION
Practical aspects related with high-power cycloconverter op-
eration used in the mining process have been presented and
discussed in this paper. Practical recommendations related with
operation, compensation, and protection have been proposed.
Relevant current waveforms associated with the starting of a
20-MW synchronous motor SAG mill drive have been reported,
as well as current and voltage waveforms during a cyclocon-
verter commutation failure.
R EFERENCES
[1] J. R. Rodriguez et al., “Technical evaluation and practical experience of
high-power grinding mill drives in mining applications,” IEEE Trans. Ind.
Appl., vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 866–874, May/Jun. 2005.
[2] B. K. Bose, “Ore-grinding cycloconverter drive operation and fault: My
experience with an Australian Grid,” IEEE Ind. Electron. Mag., vol. 5,
no. 4, pp. 12–22, Dec. 2011.
[3] B. R. Pelly, Thyristor Phase-Controlled Converters and Cycloconverters.
Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley-Interscience, 1971.
[4] G. T. Heydt and R. F. Chu, “The power quality impact of cycloconverter
control strategies,” IEEE Trans. Power Del., vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 1711–1718,
Apr. 2005.
[5] P. Aravena, G. Vallebuona, L. Morán, J. Dixon, and O. Godoy, “Passive
filter for high power cycloconverter grinding mill drives,” in Conf. Rec.
IEEE IAS Annu. Meeting, Oct. 2009, pp. 1–7.
[6] R. Natarajan, Power System Capacitors. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Taylor &
Francis, 2005.
[7] J. Pontt, J. Rodriguez, J. Rebolledo, K. Tishcler, and N. Becker, “Operation
of high power cycloconverter-fed gearless drives under abnormal condi-
tions,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 814–820, May/Jun. 2007.
[8] S. K. Kawatra, Advances in Comminution, Society for Mining, Metallurgy,
Exploration. Englewood, CO, USA: SME, 2006.
[9] R. W. Lye, Power Converter Handbook. Peterborough, ON, Canada:
Power Delivery Dept., Canadian General Electric Company, 1976.
Pablo A. Aravena was born in Concepción, Chile.
He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineer-
ing from the University of Concepción (UdeC),
Concepción, Chile.
Since 2009, he has been a Project Engineer with
IIT-UdeC, developing studies related to power dis-
tribution and system protection, power quality, and
failure analysis of large ac drives. His research ar-
eas of interest include power quality, ac drives, and
dynamic compensation in mining applications.
Luis A. Morán (F’05) was born in Concepción,
Chile. He received the Ph.D. degree from Concordia
University, Montreal, QC, Canada, in 1990.
Since 1990, he has been with the Electrical En-
gineering Department, University of Concepción,
Concepción, where he is a Professor. He has written
and published papers on active power filters and
static Var compensators in IEEE T RANSACTIONS.
His main areas of interest include ac drives, power
quality, active power filters, FACTS, and power sys-
tems protection.
Dr. Morán is the principal author of the paper that won the Outstanding Paper
Award from the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society for the best paper published
in the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON I NDUSTRIAL E LECTRONICS in 1995 and
a coauthor of the paper that was awarded in 2002 by the IAS Static Power
Converter Committee.
MELO et al.: HIGH-POWER CYCLOCONVERTER FOR MINING APPLICATIONS 91

Rolando Burgos (S’96–M’03) received the B.S. de- Cristhian Olivares was born in Talcahuano, Chile,
gree in electronics engineering, the Electronics Engi- in 1978. He received the Electrical Engineer-
neering Professional degree, and the M.S. and Ph.D. ing degree from the University of Concepción,
degrees in electrical engineering from the University Concepción, Chile, in 2003.
of Concepción, Concepción, Chile, in 1995, 1997, In 2003, he started working as a Junior Engineer
1999, and 2002, respectively. with an industrial support company as a specialist
In 2002, he joined the Center for Power Electron- in gearless mill drives (GMDs) for grinding appli-
ics Systems (CPES), Virginia Polytechnic Institute cations. In 2009, he joined Anglo American Chile,
and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Los Bronces Grinding Plant, where he was the Lead
VA, USA, as a Postdoctoral Fellow and later became Engineer in the Maintenance, Electrical, and Instru-
a Research Scientist in 2003 and a Research Assis- mentation Department. Since 2012, he has been a
tant Professor in 2005. In 2009, he joined, as a Scientist, ABB Corporate Senior Engineer with Siemens S.A., Santiago, Chile, working on large power
Research, Raleigh, NC, USA, where he has been a Principal Scientist since cycloconverter drives. His main interests include power electronics and closed-
June 2010. Later that year, he was also appointed as an Adjunct Associate loop control for GMD applications.
Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, North
Carolina State University, Raleigh. Since August 2012, he has been an As-
sociate Professor at Virginia Tech. His research interests include multiphase
multilevel power conversion, stability of ac and dc power electronics systems,
hierarchical modeling, control theory and applications, and the synthesis of
power electronics conversion systems.
Dr. Burgos is member of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, where he
currently serves as the Secretary of the Committee on Simulation, Modeling
and Control, and as an Associate Editor of the IEEE P OWER E LECTRONICS
L ETTERS and the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON P OWER E LECTRONICS.

Pablo Astudillo was born in Santiago, Chile, in

1981. He received the B.Sc. degree and the Elec-
tronic Engineering degree from the University of
David A. Melo was born in Rochester, NY, USA.
Concepción, Concepción, Chile, in 2004 and 2007,
He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering
respectively.
from the University of Concepción, Biobío, Chile.
Since 2007, he has been working in the area of
power electronics for industrial applications, such In 2014, he entered the graduate program of Bhp
Billiton, Ltd.
as electrical locomotive, power rectifier, and large
He is currently working as an Analysis and Im-
power cycloconverter drives for grinding applica-
provement Engineer in the maintenance of mo-
tions. Since 2011, he has been an Automation
Engineer with Siemens S.A., Santiago, Chile. His bile equipment area with Minera Escondida Ltda.,
Santiago, Chile.
research interests include power electronics, high-power ac drives, active power
filters, and renewable energy.